aside President Trump’s First Year’s Reign Has Been Worse Than Expected

“We the People,” the coalition of the decent, the “Never Trumpers,” The Resistance participants including those of the “Women’s March, Indivisible and others, the democrats along with the majority of independents and a significant number of republicans, all knew that we were in for a rocky ride. It has been much worse than we could have imagined.

Here is the rest of the story…

On December 25, 2017, Eugene Robinson of the Washington Post penned the following opinion piece, “Trump’s first year was even worse than feared.”

Excerpts:

“Grit your teeth. Persevere. Just a few more days and this awful, rotten, no-good, ridiculous, rancorous, sordid, disgraceful year in the civic life of our nation will be over. Here’s hoping that we all — particularly special counsel Robert S. Mueller III — have a better 2018.”

“Many of us began 2017 with the consoling thought that the Donald Trump presidency couldn’t possibly be as bad as we feared. It turned out to be worse.”

“Did you ever think you would hear a president use the words “very fine people” to describe participants in a torch-lit rally organized by white supremacists, neo-Nazis and the Ku Klux Klan? Did you ever think you would hear a U.S. ambassador to the United Nations thuggishly threaten that she would be “taking names” of countries that did not vote on a General Assembly resolution the way she wanted? Did you ever think the government of the world’s biggest military and economic power would reject not just science but also empiricism itself, preferring to use made-up “alternative facts” as the basis for major decisions?”

“We knew that Trump was narcissistic and shallow, but on Inauguration Day it was possible to at least hope he was self-aware enough to understand the weight that now rested on his shoulders, and perhaps grow into the job. He did not. If anything, he has gotten worse.”

“By all accounts, the president spends hours each day watching cable news, buoyed by the shows that blindly support him — “Fox & Friends,” “Hannity,” a few others on Fox News — and enraged by those that seek to hold him accountable. His aides have had to shorten and dumb down his daily briefings on national security in an attempt to get him to pay attention. Members of his Cabinet try to outdo one another in lavishing him with flowery, obsequious praise that would embarrass the Sun King.”

“Trump and his enablers have waged a relentless war against truth in an attempt to delegitimize any and all critical voices. He wields the epithet “fake news” as a cudgel against inconvenient facts and those who report them. Can a democracy function without a commonly accepted chronicle of events and encyclopedia of knowledge? We are conducting a dangerous experiment to find out.”

“To understand how deviant the Trump administration is, consider this: Since its founding, the nation has treasured civilian control of the military as a restraint on adventurism. Now we must rely on three generals — Trump’s chief of staff, his national security adviser and his secretary of defense — to keep this rash and erratic president from careering off the rails.”

“The president’s Republican allies in Congress, who have the power to restrain an out-of-control executive, have rolled over in passive submission. Many see clearly Trump’s unfitness but continue to support him because they fear the wrath of his hardcore base and see the chance to enact a conservative agenda. History will remember this craven opportunism and judge it harshly.”

“I haven’t even mentioned Trump’s nepotism — installing his daughter and son-in-law as high-ranking advisers, with portfolios they are in no way qualified to handle — or his inability to staff the executive branch with the best-and-brightest types who customarily serve. The Trump administration is not only transgressive, it is also mediocre.”

“In November, Democrat Ralph Northam won the governor’s race in Virginia, a purple state, by a surprisingly big nine-point margin. His coattails were long enough to elect so many Democrats to the state House of Delegates that control of the chamber is still undecided pending recounts. And then on Dec. 12, Democrat Doug Jones defeated Republican Roy Moore in a special election for a U.S. Senate seat — in Alabama, of all places, one of the most Republican states in the nation.”

“These races were not about D’s vs. R’s. They were about sanity vs. insanity, reason vs. chaos. They were about Trump, and he lost.”

“So Godspeed to the Mueller investigation, but let him worry about that. The rest of us — Democrats, independents, patriotic Republicans — should work toward the November election. Our duty is to elect a Congress that will bring this runaway train under control.”

20 comments

in 2017 there was little folk could do other than protest and keep the candles alight.
Now in 2018 comes a chance to change the political Construct and hem in him.
This requires very cool heads, focused planning and disciplined ranks.

You said the magic words, “this requires very cool heads, focused planning and disciplined ranks.”

Historically, if the democrats can figure out a way to blow it, they will act accordingly.

If they just stick to the facts about President Trump, they can avoid resorting to hyperbole like, President Trump is behaving like a Nazi, or he is the harbinger of Armageddon. Frankly the facts sink him in the swamp of his own making.

Then the democrats need to avoid the social issues that spike the culture wedge wars while coming up with ways to constructively deal with the bread and butter woes of average Americans.

I have said at least once a day in recent months that this is a bigger disaster than even I predicted, and my predictions were quite bad. I fully concur with Mr. Robinson’s opinion that we need two things: Robert Mueller to do an impeccable job, leaving no stone unturned, and the mid-term elections to take out the trash in the Capitol. We have our work cut out for us in the coming year. Thanks for this post, Gronda, and I will re-blog.
Hugs!!!

I have just been listening to credible news professionals complaining that they are exhausted from covering this president. They were bemoaning that there were so many news stories that it has been hard to keep up.

Does this complaint sound familiar to you?

We can empathize because we have a hard time to keep up with their reports so that we can be an army amplifying their reports based on sound research, verification of facts, sources, etc.

We are kindred spirits when we concur with Mr. Robinson’s opinion that we need two things: Robert Mueller to do an impeccable job, leaving no stone upturned, and the mid-term elections to take out the trash in the Capitol.

WE CAN DO THIS!

Thanks a million times over for all of your support and for this reblog.

Oh yes, my friend … this sounds very familiar indeed!!! But, our battle is far from over, so we will catch our breath, get our second wind, and fight even harder this year than we did last. Together, along with some of our other friends here on WordPress, we WILL make a difference! I thank you for all your good work this past year, and for the inspiration you always give me when I get tired. Many hugs, dear friend!!!

Reblogged this on Filosofa's Word and commented:
On the morning of November 9th, 2016, many of us predicted that Donald Trump would tarnish our image in the world, and make a shambles of our democracy, if left unchecked. My hopes at that time were that Congress would put the brakes on him. Unfortunately, Congress has failed miserably and our predictions not only held, but the reality of the Trump presidency has far exceeded our predictions, and not in any good way. Please take a few minutes to read Gronda’s post for a clear summary of the past year with the new disease, Trumpitis, spreading rapidly over the nation. Many thanks to Gronda for this post and her generous permission to share.

Gronda, thirteen months ago, I said we need to give him a chance, even though I did not vote for him. But, I had low expectations and high concerns. To be frank, he has failed to achieve even those low expectations and we are less thought of in the world. We have the most untruthful President ever (and it is not even close) and civil liberties and discourse are in jeopardy. And, sadly there are too many cowards in the GOP leadership to call him on the carpet, so the not enough folks know he is the largest purveyor of fake news in America.

Many will point to the economy which is going pretty well (even before the Tax cut to stimulate it), but he was very fortunate to be handed a baton on an economy in one of the longest economic growth periods in our history. All those numbers he said were untrue under Obama have now miraculous become true under his tutelage. Yet, it should be noted that the President position gets too much credit and blame for the economy.

The role does provide headwind or tailwinds. And, I fear he has thrown some headwinds long term with debt increasing and retrenching globally that will countervent the impact of tax cuts stimulus which is overstated per more than a few nonpartisan economic groups.

Can you believe that there are sycophant republicans trying to compare President Trump to Winston Churchill?

SEE: these tweets.

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Gov. Mike Huckabee
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Churchill was hated by his own party, opposition party, and press. Feared by King as reckless, and despised for his bluntness. But unlike Neville Chamberlain, he didn’t retreat. We had a Chamberlain for 8 yrs; in @realDonaldTrump we have a Churchill.

Kristian Tonning Riise‏
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Replying to @GovMikeHuckabee @realDonaldTrump
Sure. Churchill served his country 55 years in parliament, 31 years as a minister and 9 as pm. He was present in 15 battles and received 14 medals of bravery. He was one of historys most gifted orators and won the Nobel Literature Prize for his writing. Totally same thing…

11:54 AM – 26 Dec 2017

Obviously the president’s republican sycophants need to brush up on their history books. Their ignorance is showing.

Winston Churchill had been in the British Army during WWI; he led Britain through WW II as its Prime Minister from 1940-1945; he handled several foreign policy crises in his 2nd term as PM from 1951-1955. Hea was well known for being an exceptional orator and writer.

Gronda, equating Trump to Churchill is similar to saying Jim Bakker is similar to the Pope. Both Bakker and Trump are driven by ego, while the Pope and Churchill are driven by passion, statesmanship and competence. Keith

“Our duty is to elect a Congress that will bring this runaway train under control.” I hope that once Trump’s day is done, the memory of what he did to the US, and democracy, will fuel a renaissance that blows away at least some of the reasons Trump could become president in the first place. 😦

If i had my way, I would set up a non-partisan commission made up of who’s who folks with strong reputations for competence, integrity, and professionalism to detail everything related to this Trump/ Russia investigation era. This plan would be set in motion the minute Democrats outnumbered the republicans in the US Congress in 2018.